Perspective taking is context-dependent: The relation among perspective taking, sleep, and affect in an acute psychiatric sample
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Perspective taking is a central component of social cognition linked to interpersonal functioning and psychiatric symptomatology. Although it is traditionally viewed as a stable trait, emerging evidence suggests it may fluctuate with momentary contextual factors. In the current study, we investigated the longitudinal association between perspective taking, sleep, and affect in a clinically heterogenous psychiatric sample. Participants were 900 patients (M age = 36.33, SD = 14.50, 58.89% female, 78.89% non-Hispanic White) who completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index Perspective Taking subscale, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index throughout a two-week partial hospital program. Our multilevel modeling results indicate that greater positive and lower negative affect were significantly associated with more frequent perspective taking. Sleep duration was not significantly associated with perspective taking. The results support a shift toward conceptualizing perspective taking as a contextually sensitive process in psychiatric populations.
Source: PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints)
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7213561261